Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Woody Allen

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Woody Allen	...	Woody Allen
Ben Duncan	...	Ben Duncan
Daniel Okrent	...	A.J. Pickman
Dan Moran	...	Boss
Tony Darrow	...	Ben
Chris Bauer	...	Ace - Pool Player
Sean Penn	...	Emmet Ray
Constance Shulman	...	Hazel - Hooker #1
Kellie Overbey	...	Iris - Hooker #2
Darryl Alan Reed	...	Don
Marc Damon Johnson	...	Omer
Ron Cephas Jones	...	Alvin
Steve Bargonetti	...	Musician Friend
Benjamin Franklin Brown	...	Musician Friend
James Urbaniak	...	Harry

Storyline

A comedic biopic focused on the life of fictional jazz guitarist Emmett Ray. Ray was an irresponsible, free-spending, arrogant, obnoxious, alcohol-abusing, miserable human being, who was also arguably the best guitarist in the world. We follow Ray's life: bouts of getting drunk, his bizzare hobbies of shooting rats and watching passing trains, his dreams of fame and fortune, his strange obsession with the better-known guitarist Django Reinhardt, and of course, playing his beautiful music.

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Plot Keywords:

counterfeiting | jazz | train | rat | gangster | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and some substance abuse

Did You Know?

Trivia

Samantha Morton received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in spite of the fact that she has no spoken lines.

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Goofs

The food on Emmett's fork disappears.

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Quotes

Emmet Ray: I can make my guitar sound just like a train!

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Connections

Referenced in Dinner for Five: Episode #1.5 (2002)

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Soundtracks

The Peanut Vendor
(1927)
Written by Moïse Simons
English Lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Marion Sunshine
Performed by Howard Alden, Bucky Pizzarelli, Kelly Friesen, Ken Peplowski and Ted Sommer

User Reviews

Sweet

Woody is uneven to say the least. His most celebrated films strike me as failures by overreaching. But here the aspirations are slight and the result is rather winning.

All of Woody's pictures are self-referential in the sense that they are about him, his foibles and neuroses. Here, that is made more plain by the invention of a simple self-referential device: the film is about an artist who has troubles relating to women, and who has eccentric habits. Ho hum, until you add the tricks which are deft;

--The story is a documentary (complete with reminicenses) but of a completely fictitious character

--The narrative comes not from a disembodied camera, but from the contemporaries and historians, including Woody. Thus, the artist sits down with the audience, to swap tales about his avatar.

--Some of the stories are of the `as I heard it' tall tale variety, going so far as to have three versions of a scene all patent lies. This is really the best.

It all works because Penn is such an intelligent actor. He knows that he has to live in several realities:

--He is the character

--He is the fictitious remembrance of the character

--He is one of the storytellers

--He is the actor Sean Penn winking at you throughout

Penn carries this off with aplumb -- simultaneous stances, all but the first in good humor. Great drama, since you never really know where you stand. This film is a gem.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Woody Allen Fall Project 1998

Filming Locations:

Haverstraw, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$29,750,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$94,686, 5 December 1999

Gross USA:

$4,197,015

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,525,794

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sweetland Films, Magnolia Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Mono)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1